(1 year, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberOrder. I understand that the case referred to by the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson) is currently before the courts. It is therefore covered by the House’s sub judice resolution and should not be referred to in this House. It is, of course, open to any Member to ask that I waive the resolution in a particular case, but that has not happened in this case and therefore it should not be discussed at all. I will leave it at that.
Yes, Mr Speaker. My apologies: I forgot to refer the House to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests on the support that I receive from RAMP—the Refugee, Asylum and Migration Policy project—and my co-chairship of the all-party parliamentary group on migration.
(3 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberThe UK is among the most nature-depleted countries in the world and the decline is not slowing. The Government have made a deliberate decision not to announce any concrete targets to reverse it until October next year, long after COP26, and are instead focusing on cutting the costs of internal flights rather than cutting rail fares. Does the Minister think this undermines the Government’s credibility at the conference this weekend?
(3 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberI welcome the new shadow Minister, Olivia Blake, to the Front Bench.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
The Government have made some grand claims about the species-abundance targets that they will add to the Environment Bill to protect our native species and wildlife. The Secretary of State has said that the Government want
“not only to stem the tide”
of the loss of nature
“but to turn it around—to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.”
However, last week the Government published their amendment; will the Minister explain why the proposed legislation commits only to
“further the objective of halting a decline in the abundance of species”
rather than reversing the decline?